News

Hello, CarbonWA friends: Thanks to everyone who chipped in from our last e-newsletter to raise over $1,000 for Dr. Sharon Shewmake, the environmental economist running for state House in the 42nd! And, the movement for a price on carbon continues to spread beyond humble beginnings in Washington State. Read on for exciting progress. Plus, CarbonWA is preparing to endorse bipartisan climate advocates for state legislature.

We discuss the recent dismissal of the Youth climate lawsuit in Washington State on our blog, and what it means for climate advocates. The summary is that it’s essential to elect a climate majority in the state legislature as the state court system closes off executive and legal avenues to climate action, and that we’ve got to do more than just elect candidates who talk a good game but can’t back it up. So, we’ve created a candidate questionnaire (check out the questionnaire our website) to evaluate candidates state legislature for endorsement and our support.

You can help us elect a bipartisan climate majority by:

Encouraging candidates in your district to complete the endorsement questionnaire and send it to us.

Donating to CarbonWA so we can provide campaign support to candidates.

Donating directly to candidates who support smart climate action.

Publicizing our endorsements list when we release it in September.

National and State Level Carbon Pricing Efforts Gaining Steam(!)

Our friends in Massachusetts came even closer than we did this year in their state legislature to putting a price on carbon.

The Mass. state senate passed an ambitious package that included a mandate for a price on carbon, but the Mass. house blinked, and ultimately passed a more modest package that included some piecemeal climate efforts (but no price). Expect to see Massachusetts in the news as leaders plan to reintroduce pricing efforts next year. CABA breaks down what happened in Massachusetts this year. They will join Oregon (and perhaps Washington pending the outcome of I-1631) in making a serious pricing push in 2019. Further to the North, carbon pricing is also on the table in Alaska as that state’s climate advisory team grapples with the economic and environmental impacts of a warming climate on Alaska.

Meanwhile, our last newsletter explored the debate as to whether the bipartisan effort at fee-and-dividend is likely to pay political dividends. Just after a spate of skeptical coverage, two Republicans in the U.S. House introduced a national carbon pricing plan. Our take? The bill offers a credible starting point for discussion, but isn’t likely to become law with Trump in the White House, so don’t sweat the details. Just having Republicans at the table to talk about carbon pricing is a huge step forward and Rep. Curbelo and Fitzpatrick deserve credit for their bold leadership. We hope Washington State Republicans can similarly muster the guts and good sense shown by Curbelo and Fitzpatrick.

Supporters in Action

Supporter and climate scientist Marcia Baker has a new paper out exploring the link between climate change and glacier retreat in the journal Nature. Want to dig into the science even further? Don’t miss Hot Planet/Cool Science: Ask a Scientist & Variety Show on August 28th, put on by ACT NOW member Cascadia Climate Action (more on Facebook and their calendar). Meanwhile, we know opinions vary about I-1631 among CarbonWA supporters, but Jason Hodin is doing his best to get I-1631 over the line even if he can’t say goodbye to his favorite old 732 T-shirt:

Like what you’re reading? Help us continue to represent your views and give you the straight scoop on what’s happening. Your donation will multiply our effectiveness.